Wrapping machine



April 12, 1932..

E. L: SMITH WRAPPING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 14, 1930INVENTOR. 6% sf 4% ATTORNES April 12, 1932. 5.1.. SMITH WRAPPING MACHINEFiled April 14. 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 s \w v N N v f m 00 Q .Q Q8 g S WH Q U Q w 4 I III 1 Q Q m 1. U I 0 s s i-00 Q 0 \m u 0 NR E. n n ..L

April 12, 1932.. E. L. SMITH ,8 I WRAPPING MACHINE Filed April 14, 19303 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 12, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE IBIKER L. 0] LONGHEADOW, BEETS, ASSIGNOB TO PAGKAGE n- I OHINEBY COMPANY,OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION ,OI' MASSA- cnnsnrrsWRAPPING HAG Application filed April 14, 1930.. Serial No. 444,048.-

This invention relates to wrapping machines and has particular referenceto mechanism for folding and sealing the last projecting flap of thewrapper end extensions of an articl which may have the previous foldsmade by iny desired mechanism. One ob ect of the invention is to providea mechanism for insuring a neat and completely sealed end 1 fold. Afurther object is to provide an 1m- A to plate of the wrapping channelremoved;

ig. 3 is a detail of the mechanism for applying sealing material, takenon lme 3-3 of i 4' v Fig 4 is a partial side elevation of the machinewith some of the parts removed, illustrating particularly the manner inwh ch the final end fold is made and the seahng material applied; 1

Fig. 5 is'a view similar to Fig. 4 but with the mechanism for applyingsealing material removed so as to disclosebther parts hidden thereby;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the upper platecovermg the wrappin channel;

Fig.'7 is asection 2, showing in part the same elementsas 1n 5 in adifferent position of o eration; 1

has been conventionally illustrated in theform of a wrappin wheel 10(Fig. 1) having an ejector 11 -w ich forces a partially wrapped articlein the form of Fig. 8 onto a en on line 7-7 of Fig.

supporting plate 12. An upper plate 13, mounted as will be describedlater, holds the partially wrapped article against the lower plateduring its subsequent travel. At each side of the wrapping ath are endtuckers 14 see also Fi 2) w ich make the-tuck c at each end of t earticle as shown in Fig. 9.

These tuckers are cut-away as at 15 for a purpose to be later described.I

In order to convey the articles along the plate 12, a transportmechanism'is provided having a series of fingers which for conveniencewill be divided into two groups. The fingers are 'ven a motion in aclosed path travelling first along the folding channel,

then down out of it and finally back to their initial position so as toclear the articles previously advanced. The first group of fingers aremounted upon parallel trans ort bars 16 (Fig. 7) and are denoted in thedrawings are securedto a main transport frame 20 which is ivoted at .21and 22 to members 23 and 24, w ich for convenience will be referred toas bell cranks. The bell crank 23'is pivoted at 25 to'a link 26 swingingabout a pivot 27 fixed to the frame. 7 The bell crank 24 is pivoted at28 to a similar link 29 swin g upon the frame as at 30. Equal arms 0 thetwo bell cranks are joined together by a connecting link 30' so thatthey are constrained to move in unison. An extension 31 of the bellcrank 24 is 'oinedto a crank 32 revolving upon a sha t 33 .whichmay bedriven continuously by any suitable means. The bell cranks are thusgiven a generally circular motion which, by rea on of the form of thelinkage, is transferre to the transport frame 20 so as to give to thefingers an elongated path having a substantially straight portionextending through .the folding channel.

The lower end-flaps d are folded upwardly against the end of the articleby folding plates 34 carried upon the bars 16 adjacent the fingers 1-8.These. plates pass between the ends of the articles and the cut awayportions 15 ofv the end tucking plates 14. By this action a tight wrapis obtained, the end .flap being doubled upon itself as fully describedby the numerals 17, 18 and 19.. The bars 16 in gatent to Ferguson No.1,634,711, July 5, 192 I After the flap d is turned u by this means, thearticle is carried forward by the fingers 19 and positioned in thelocation shown at a in Fig. 5. During this motion the tucking plates 14continue to hold the flaps d in their folded positions. At the point athe article comes under-the influence of the second set of transportingfingers carried by transport bars 35 and denotedin the drawlngsby thenumerals 36 to 42 inclusive. These transportbars are carried upon theframe and partake of its movement. At the fingers 36 the bars 35 areformed with ledges 43 underlying the article so that as the transportermoves om the position of Fig. 5 to that of Fig. 7 the article will beelevated. Fig.

'7 shows an intermediate position in the travel of the transportfingers, the fingers 36 continuing to move the article forwardly andultimately positioning it upon an extension 44 of the plate 12, the twobeing joined by an offset corresponding to the offset in the path of thearticle as it is moved upwardly by the ledges 43. The top plate 13alsohas an extension 45 which continues above the late 44 to determine achannel through whic the articles pass.

At the pointa in Fig. 5, a pair of stead ing fingers 46 rest upon thetop of the artic e. These fingers are pivoted at 47 to the frame and apin 48 connected to them is joined by a spring 49 with a stationarybracket 50. By this means, the steadying fingers are held yieldably uponthe article and move with it as it is elevated by the ledges 43. Theyserve the double purpose of keeplng the article correctly positioned andholding the wrapper tightly so that it cannot become unfolded.

As the articles are elevated, the u per flaps a come in contact with thetop olders 51 which are formed as extensions of side plates 52 mountedto the machine as will be. described later. As far as their foldingfunction is concerned, these top folders are stationary, the fold beingmade by the movement of the article between them. As the article iscarried to the left it passes out of the range of the fingers 46 andunder a yielding plate 53 suitably connected to the top plate 45.

In order to seal the folds at the end of the article, mechanism isprovided for coating both the external surfaces of the folds b, c

and d and the inner surface of the fold e at each end of the packagewith a liquidsealing material, preferably melted paraflin wax. This waxis contained in pots 54 arranged at each side of the path of travel ofthe article and kept hot by electric heaters 55.

Above the article channel is located a wax supply tank 56, alsoelectricall heated, from which lead pipes 57 including and operatedvalves 58. This upper tank reserves a comparatively large quantity ofmelted wax in condition for use and can be drawn upon as geiquired toreplenish the supply in the pots In each of the pots rotates a disk 59mounted upon a shaft 60 driven constantly by a motor which is not shown.Scraping members 61 are laced to remove excess wax from the sides 0 thedisks as they emerge from the ots, it having been found that the wax ont e periphery is sufiicient in quantity to rundown the sides near theupper portion of the disk as it revolves and thus give a coatin to theflaps at the end of the article.

he article in the position a has its ends abutting the adjacent faces ofthe disks 57, as shown in Fig. 3, and has the bottom surfaces of theextending flaps e resting upon the peripheries of the disks. Since thedisks are constantly revolving,'the wax is forced into all corners ofthe wra per end folds and the wrapping material is thoroughly coated.Further relative movement between the disks and the article ends occursas the article is elevated out of the range of the disks by the led es43. The side members 52 are formed wit downwardly extending flanges orwings 62 which are preferably bent awa from each other as shown indotted lines in ig. 3. Any excess wax which has been applied to thearticle is squeezed out as it1s compressed between the heated topfolders 51 and runs gpwn these wings, dripping off into the pots Theside members 52 are provided with heatin units 65 and are preferablypivoted at 66 gFig. 1)' to the frame of the machine. A handle 67 ispivotally supportedmt 68 at one side of the machine and is joined by alink 69 (Fig. 2) with a pivot-70 formed u on the remote side member. Alink 71 extending between an arm 72 on the handle and a pivot 73 on theadjacent side member produces a I motion equal and opposite to that ofthe link 69 so that as the handle is rocked the two side members may bemoved either into the position shown in which they press against theends of the articles or to an inactive position in which they will notsupply excessive heat to the articles when the machine is stopped. Thehandle is manually operated whenever the machine is stopped so as toprevent damage to the articles by excessive heating. Each of the heatingunits 65 is provided with an electrical lug connection 74 and is movedoutwardly y a spring 75, the link mechanism described acting as a toggleto hold the side plates rigidly in their active positions when in use.

After leaving the heated side members, the ends of the articles passbetween opposed cold boxes 76 and 77. The box 77 is joined by springs 78to a bracket 79 so as to accommodate sli ht inequalities in packagedimensions. old boxes are provided with pi es 80 for the circulation ofa cooling liquid It is referable to have the top plate 13, detacha lymounted uponthe machine. For this purpose, it is provided at one endwith a slot 81 (Fig. 6) fitting upon the grooved button 82 (Figs. 1 and2) projecting from a stationary arch 83. At the other'end a cross tionof Fig. 8 is delivered to the right hand end of the machine, as shown inFig. 1, by any suitable mechanism, the folds 7) having previously beenmade. The fold c at each end is formed by the tucking plates 14 and thearticle is fed one step by the fingers 17.

- As the fingers 18 come into action to move the article another step,the folding plates 34 turn up the bottom end folds d. The fingers 19then move the article into the position a in which it is acted upon bythe wax applying disks 59 at each end. The fingers 36 and the ledges 43then raise the article, causmg the upper flaps e to be turned down bythe stationary members 51 and carrying the articles onto the upper levelof the supporting plate 44. Any excess wax will be pressed out by theheated side members 52 and will run back to the pots 54 down the wings62. The article is now completely wrapped and sealed and it remains onlyto chill the wax by passage between the cold boxes 76 and 77.

laims:

' 1. Wrapping mechanism for folding down the final flap of a wrapper endextension which comprises means for transporting a package with thefinal flap extending away from the other flaps, means for applying hotparafiin wax to the'outer faces of the previously laid folds and theinner surface of the final fold, and means for pressing said flapstogether, the wax being applied in excess and being squeezed out by thepressing of the folds. I

2. Wrapping mechanism for folding down the final flap of a wrapper endextension which comprises means for transporting a package with thefinal flap extending away from the other flaps, a wax pot at each sideof the path of travel of the article, a roll dipping into the wax ineach pot and rotating to carry the melted wax into contact with theouter faces of the previously laid folds and the inner surface of thefinal fold, and means for pressing said flaps together.-

3..A wrapping mechanism as claimed in claim 2, having a drain forcarrying the excess wax from the pressing means back to the pot.

4. Wrap ing mechanism for folding downthe final ap of a wrapper endextension which comprises means for transporting a ackage with a finalflap extending away rom the other flaps, means for applying melted waxto the outer faces of the previously laid folds and the inner surface ofthe final fold, and heated pressing members to press side folds togetherand squeeze out excess wax.

5. Wrappin mechanism for folding down the final end aps of a wrapper endextension which comprises an article support having an offset path,stationary folders located ad]acent the offset to fold down the finalfla of the end extension, means for feeding artlcles in steps along thesupport and against the folder by the offset, and a yieldable steadyingmember resting upon the article during its travel through the offsetportion of the path.

6. Wrapping mechanism for folding down the final end flaps of the endextensions of a wrapper which comprises an article-support having anoffset path, a transport mechanism having fingers movable through aclosed path and provided with a ledge for a moving the article throughthe offset portion of the path, stationary folders located at the offsetportion ofsaid path and operative to fold down the final flap, and a'yieldable steadying member resting upon the article during its travelthrough the offset portion of the path. I

7. A wrapping machine as claimed in claim 6 having a yieldable memberopposed to the support and positioned to receive the article from theledge of a transporter. v

8. A wrapping machine as claimed in claim 5 having opposed disks locatedadjacent the offset portion of the support, the sides of the diskbearing against the ends of the article and the peripheries of the diskbearing against the inside of the final flap of the end extension, andmeans for supplying a sealing fluid to said disks.

9. A wrap ing machine comprising mechanism for 0 din in a plurality offolds the end extension 0 a tubular wrapper, leaving a single flap onlyextending away from the other folds, means for coating the outer facesof the previously laid folds and the inner surface of the singlerojecting flap with sealing fluid, and means or pressing the final flapagainst the previously laid folds.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my

